Attending ex-girlfriend's wedding, arresting the groom's officer on the spot

“But the van has no license plate or other distinguishing features, so how can we investigate?” Zhang Hui asked. “Moreover, Li Jianjun left in the morning, and the villagers saw the van at night. The timeline doesn’t match up. Unless the suspect acted in two separate ways—luring Li Jianjun in the morning and disposing of the tools or body at night—but that’s just speculation, there’s no evidence.”

As Lu Chuan listened to everyone's discussion, he tapped his fingers lightly on the table and suddenly spoke up: "Has anyone considered that the suspect lured Li Jianjun to the mine not simply to kill him, but to find something? The note Li Jianjun wrote marked the specific fork in the road, that abandoned winch room. Could it be that something the suspect wants is hidden there, and only Li Jianjun knows the location?"

This speculation instantly silenced the meeting room. Zhang Hui's eyes lit up: "That's possible! Li Jianjun is a former coal miner and familiar with the mine's structure. He might know what's hidden in the winch room. The suspect used 'finding scrap metal' as an excuse, but actually wanted Li Jianjun to lead the way to find something. After finding it, he killed Li Jianjun to silence him."

"But the winch room collapsed a long time ago, what could it possibly be hiding there?" Yang Lin wondered.

"Perhaps it was valuables, documents, or even evidence related to previous mining accidents that someone had hidden there before the mine closed down?" Lu Chuan speculated. "Li Jianjun may have inadvertently learned of this secret, which was discovered by the suspect, so the other party deliberately lured him to the mine and killed him to cover it up."

Zhang Kai nodded in agreement: "Judging from the time of death, Li Jianjun left home on Wednesday morning last year and was killed on the same day, which means that the suspect did not give him much time to react, for fear that he would reveal the secret; moreover, the suspect chose to commit the crime in the mine because it was remote and not easy to be discovered; and the mine environment was complex and could cover up the traces of the crime, which is consistent with the characteristics of 'premeditated'."

"So where should we start next?" Wang Shuai asked, as this was the most crucial question at the moment.

Lu Chuan organized his thoughts and said firmly, "We'll proceed in four directions. First, the technical department will expedite the DNA comparison of cigarette butts, the analysis of the composition of metal powder from the rock walls, and the testing of the fibers in Li Jianjun's work clothes, striving to find clues about the suspect from the evidence. Second, Zhang Hui will lead a team to continue investigating the identity of the 'old colleague,' contacting the original management department of the coal mine to review the list of miners from that year, focusing on those who were in the same group as Li Jianjun and recently returned to the area. Third, Wang Shuai will expand the search area for the white van, visiting nearby gas stations and repair shops to inquire if any owners have repaired the old white van, while also retrieving nearly a month's worth of surveillance footage from the road below the mountain to look for vehicle traces. Fourth, Yang Lin will bring professional equipment to re-enter the mine for exploration, focusing on checking the abandoned winch room area to see if there are any signs of excavation, searching for 'things' the suspect might be looking for."

He paused for a moment and added, "In addition, we need to investigate Li Jianjun's social connections more thoroughly. We can't just limit ourselves to his colleagues and neighbors. We also need to investigate his relatives and former friends to see if anyone knows what secrets he has. At the same time, we should issue a notice for assistance in the investigation, publish Li Jianjun's photo and missing person information, and appeal to the public to provide clues. Perhaps we will get unexpected results."

The meeting lasted until noon. The team members clarified their respective tasks and got up to prepare for action. Zhang Hui looked at Li Jianjun's photo on the screen and made a silent decision in his heart—no matter how well the suspect hid, no matter how well the clues were hidden, he would investigate step by step to find the murderer who used the identity of "old colleague" to lure Li Jianjun and then cruelly killed him, and give Li Jianjun's family an explanation.

Stepping out of the meeting room, sunlight streamed through the glass into the corridor as the team members hurried past. Although many mysteries remained in the case, the case analysis meeting had given them a new direction. The previously scattered clues were gradually converging towards "secret," "silencing witnesses," and "premeditated crime." Zhang Hui believed that as long as they followed this direction, they would soon find a breakthrough and uncover the truth behind the Dongshan coal mine underground murder case.

At 1 p.m., Zhang Hui led his team to the former management department of the coal mine to review the list of miners; Wang Shuai drove to a nearby gas station to inquire about clues about the white van; Yang Lin prepared the investigation equipment and went to the mine again... A pursuit of "secrets" and "truths" officially began around Dongshan Coal Mine, and the murderer hiding in the darkness of the mine may be gradually driven to a dead end by this increasingly intense investigation.

On Thursday afternoon at 2 PM, Wang Shuai and his team member Xiao Li drove to the former office area of ​​Dongshan Coal Mine. The area was long abandoned; the windows of several red brick buildings were broken, and the sign for the "Dongshan Coal Mine Safety Production Office" hung crookedly on the wall, covered in a thick layer of dust. According to the case analysis meeting's plan, Wang Shuai's original task was to investigate the white van, but after visiting five gas stations and three repair shops in the vicinity, he obtained no useful information—either they said they "had never seen an old white van without license plates," or "this kind of car is too common, I can't remember." Seeing that the investigation had stalled again, Wang Shuai suddenly remembered that an old miner, Grandpa Zhang, had mentioned "an accident before the coal mine closed down," so he temporarily changed his approach, deciding to start with past accidents at the coal mine to see if he could find any hidden clues related to Li Jianjun.

"Li Jianjun is a former coal miner. Could he have made enemies because of a past accident?" Wang Shuai wondered, standing at the door of the dilapidated office. He pushed open the door, and the room was filled with a damp, musty smell. Discarded documents and worn-out safety helmets were scattered on the floor, and thick cobwebs covered the corners. The two carefully searched through the room, hoping to find accident records or employee files from that time.

"Brother Hui, look at this!" Xiao Li suddenly found a yellowed notebook in his desk drawer, the cover of which read "Safety Production Log 2023"—a record from a year ago. Wang Shuai took the notebook and carefully flipped through the pages. It recorded the daily safety inspections at the coal mine, until October 15, 2023, when the log suddenly became scribbled: "Today, a roof collapse occurred underground, one person was injured and has been sent to the hospital." There were no further details, no name of the injured person, and no analysis of the cause of the accident.

"Roof collapse? One person injured?" Wang Shuai frowned. "Why isn't there a detailed record of this accident from a year ago? Could the injured person be Li Jianjun?" He continued searching and found a compensation list tucked inside the notebook on the last few pages. It listed five names and corresponding compensation amounts, ranging from 20,000 to 50,000 yuan, but Li Jianjun's name was conspicuously absent. (End of Chapter)